craig



No. 616,08I. Q Patented Dec. 20, I898.

A. CRAIG & C. T. AUSTEN.

BICYCLE WHEEL ASSEMBLING MACHINE.

(Application filed Sept. 23, 1897.) (No Model.) I 4 Sheets8heet l.

Patented Dec. 20, I898.

N E T s u A 0 u m A D c A m m 0 0 m N BICYCLE WHEEL ASSEMBLING MACHINE.

(Application filed. Sept. 23, 1897..

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model) No. 6l6,08l. Patented Dec. 20, 1898. A. CRAIG -& C. T. AUSTEN. BICYCLE WHEEL ASSEMBLING MACHINE.

' (Application filed Sept. 23. 1897.) No Model.) Sheets-Sheet 3.

' Patented Dec. 20, I898. A. CRAIG &. C. T. AUSTEN.

BICYCLE WHEEL ASSEMBLING MACHINE.

(Application filed Sept. 23 1897.)

No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 NITED STATES PATENT Orrron.

ALEXANDER CRAIG, OF COVENTRY, AND CHARLES THOMAS AUSTEN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

BICYCLE-'WHEEL-ASSEMBLING MACHINE.

s'Pn'oIFIcA'rroN forming part of Letters Patent No. 616,081, dated December 20, 1898. Application filed september 23, 1897. Serial No. 652,747. (No model.)

1'0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, ALEXANDER CRAIG, residing at Coventry, in the county of Warwick, and CHARLES THOMAS AUSTEN, residing at Lewisham, London, in the county of Kent, England, subjects of the Queen of Great Britain, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to MachineryEmployed in the Construction of Tension-W'heels for Velocipedes and the Like; of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to machinery employed in the construction of tension-wheels for velocipedes and the like and comprises the improved apparatus hereinafter described for rotating and screwing up the nipples by which the spokes are secured to the rim of the wheel when the various parts are in position.

Our present improvement consists, further, in the provision of means whereby the machinery is caused to be put into operation, such operation to be arrested at the desired moment and the parts left in such a position as to be in readiness for operating on the next nipple by one manipulation of a lever.

A further object of our said invention is to provide for use with such a machine a chucking device for maintaining the hub centrally within the wheel-rim and keeping the rim true while the wheel is being built up.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line at Q3, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a trans- Verse section on the line y y, Figs. 1 and 2, looking to the right, and Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the same line y y, Figs. 1 and 2, looking to the left, showing our improved machine. Fig. 5 is a detail view. Fig. 6 shows in transverse section, and Fig. 7 in elevation, a chucking device for maintaining the hub centrally within the rim and keeping the rim true while the wheel is being operated upon.

Like letters and numerals indicate correspondingpar'ts throughout the drawings.

A is the bed or base plate, and B B"B are standards or brackets either mounted or formed thereon. The standards B B are located at or near the ends of the bed or base plate A and serve to support a shaft or spindle a, which is rotatably mounted in suitable bearings therein. Near one end of the spindle a. we fix by means of a pin 1) or otherwise a disk I), one face of which is provided with a suitable number of radial grooves 12 c is a belt-pulley or its equivalent loosely mounted upon the spindle a in close proximity to the radially-grooved face of the disk I), or the said pulley a may be recessed, as shown in Fig. 2, to receive the disk I).

cl represents a ball or sphere located in each of the holes or recesses c in the pulley c, which balls are so acted upon by springs e e and pistons e e as to cause them to engage with the radial grooves 19 in the disk I), and thus constitute a friction drive or clutch connection between the beltpulley o and the spindle a. 1

c is a suitable oilway for admitting of the lubrication of the pulley c.

f is a concentric rack or ring of ratchetteeth formed on or firmly secured to the boss of the wheel or pulley c.

g is a sleeve so mounted upon the spindle a as to be free to slide or move longitudinally, but not rotate thereon. The sleeve 9 has one end provided with a corresponding'concentric rack or ring of teeth g, adapted to engage with the teeth f on the pulley 0 when the said sleeve 9 is slid or moved in the direction of the pulley and against the resistance of a spring, which latter preferably consists of a spiral spring h, surroundingthe spindle aand located in recesses in the two parts of the clutch, one end of the said spring h bearing against a collar a on the spindle a and the other bearing against the back of the hollow or recess in the sleeve g.

To prevent the sleeve g from rotating independently of the spindle a and to limit its lateral or longitudinal movement thereon, we provide a suitable stop, which may consist of a pin 't', passing through and secured in a hole in the said spindle a and working in suitable longitudinal slots 9 formed in the sleeve, as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and2.

g is an annular or circumferential groove formed in the sleeve g, wherein works a pin, stud, or projection j upon the short arm of a shifting lever j, hereinafter described.

75 is a toothed wheel fixed, by means of a pin or otherwise, to the spindle a at or near the opposite end thereof from the pulley c.

The third standard 13*, which is located at or about the middle of one side of the base or bed plate A, is bored out lengthwise parallel to the spindle a and is provided with a longitudinal slot 13 extending through to the said hole. Z is a rod, spindle, or plunger adapted to slide freely lengthwise in the said hole in the standard B and provided with a stud Z, projecting from the said plunger Zthrough the slot B upon which stud is pivoted the hereinbefore-mentioned lever j. The spindle or plunger 1 forms a nipple-supporting device and acts as hereinafter described. The longer arm of the leverj, which is shown broken off for convenience in the drawings, may conveniently be formed into a handle, and the shorter arm thereof, as already mentioned, is provided with a pin, stud, or projection j, adapted to work in the annular groove g of the sleeve g. That portion of the side or edge of the lever nearest the belt-pulley cis formed into two curves of different radii, both of which are struck from the center of the pivotstnd, the curve with shorter radius being situated nearest to the short end of the lever, and the j unction of these two curves forms a stop To render the position of this stop adjustable, we may in some instances, as shown in Fig. 5, shape the curved part of the leverj without a stop and mount upon it an independent quadrant-piece.j provided with a stop, as shown. The quadrant-piece is rotatably mounted at the point l and adjustment is effected by a nut and bolt, the latter passing through the slot j and hole The spindle or plunger Z is formed hollow or bored out, as shown at 1 Fig. 2, and within the said hollow portion is fitted another shaft or spindle m, one end of which is adapted to lie normally flush, or approximately so, with the front face or projecting end of the said plunger and the other end of which projects through the back end of the said plunger and carries an arm n, which extends through the slot 13 in the standard B This arm 02 forms or is provided with a catch which is impelled to engage with the stop 7' on the lever j. 0 is a spring which is fitted in the recess Z and engages with or bears against a flange or stop on in the latter and a collar Z on the shaft or spindle on, and which spring serves to maintain the said spindle in its normal or forward position. A spring 0 and plunger 0' serve to retain the spindle Z in the position shown and against the thrust of the spring 0 until the arm n is released from the stop 3' 17 is a short spindle or bearing-piece, having a central hole 1), formed flaring or hellmouthed, as shown at 19 and rotatably mounted in a bracket B bolted or otherwise secured to the standard B, which spindle 10 carries a toothed or spur wheel q, adapted to mesh or gear with the toothed or spur wheel 70, and is so mounted in the said bracket as to be 00- axial with the above-mentioned plunger Z.

1' is a detachable key secured by screws 0'', Figs. 2 and 3, or otherwise at that end of the short spindle 19 adjacent to the projecting extremity of the plunger Z. This detachable key 0' is provided with a square recess, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3, or is otherwise so shaped internally as to correspond to the external form of the nipples used in the wheel, and the said key 0*, the toothed wheel q, the hollow spindle p, and the bracket B are all slotted through from the central aperture to the circumference, as indicated at B, the width of the slots being sufficient to admit (when the said slots are brought to coincide) any spoke of the required thickness and the mouth of the slot in the bracket B being formed flaring, as shown at B, to facilitate the entrance of the saidspoke. The key '1' is fixed so that its slot coincides with that of the toothed wheel q.

The toothed wheels 7c and q are shown as equal in diameter and number of teeth.

8 is a stop secured to the standard B and provided with a tooth or projection 3, adapted to engage with a catch 8 in the end of the sleeve 9 when the latter is out of gear and stop the rotation thereof, and consequently also that of the spindle a and toothed wheels 7a and q, short spindle p, and key 9'. The above-mentioned catch .5 is arranged at such a point in the circumference of the end of the sleeve g that the slotted toothed wheel q and key 1' will when stopped have their slots in line with the slot in the bracket or standard 15.

Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, the wheel to be operated upon is carried bya fork or holding device located in suitable proximity to the hereinbefore-described arrangement. In this fork runs a spindle 1, over which the wheelhub 2 is previously passed and retained there on by a coned nut 3. Upon the spindle 1 is a boss 4. This boss is fast upon the spindle and is held in position by the nut 5. From the boss 4.- project radially a number of arms -6, at the extremity of which is an annular rim 7. At intervals this rim is bored and tapped toward its axis to receive a screwed stem 8, forming part of the jaw 9. At the same point the rim 7 is slotted, as at 10, to

receive a toothed wheel 11, provided with a screw-thread to engage with the screwed stem 8. Atone side of the rim 7 a circular rack 12 is held by one or more back plates 13, secured by bolts 14. The rim 7 is likewise constructed to receive a square-ended spindle 15, to which is keyed a toothed wheel 16 and to which motion may be imparted by means of a suitable handle or box-key.

17 represents the rim of the wheel, and the jaws 9 may be shaped to correspond thereto and either as shown or to fit around the two sides of the rim.

When the wheel to be built up has been mounted as described, the spindle 15 and toothed wheel 16 are turned. This operates to rotate the rack 12, which in turn operates the pinion-wheels 11, and they, being each screw-threaded internally and held within the slot 10, operate to extend the jaws 9 equally, and thereby maintain the rim 17 in truth.

The operation of the apparatus described with reference to Figs. 1 to 5 is as follows: A cycle or other wheel is first made up so far as screwing each nipple on its spoke sufficiently to attach it thereto. The Wheel is then mounted, as hereinbefore described, and applied to the apparatus, and on a spoke being passed down the slots B and drawn along until the nipple enters the recess in the key r the rim of the said wheel will lie between the key 1" and the plunger or nipple-supporting device Z, and the said wheel will be held so that the spoke and nipple are coaxial with the said plunger. The handle on the long arm of the lever j should be then pushed toward the center of the wheel, moving with its fulcrum at the stud or pin j, engaging in the annular or circumferential groove 9 in the sleeve 9 and guided by the slot 13 in the standard B This action first causes the plunger to project or bear against the head of the nipple, after which further pressure of the said handle in the same direction will cause the leverj to turn on the stud or pin Z in the plunger Z as a fulcrum, and the sleeve g is forced by the short arm of the said lever j and the stud or pin j, engaging in the annular or circumferential groove 9 therein, in the direction of the belt-pulley c. When (during this movement) the tooth or projection s on the stopshas become disengaged from the catch 8 in the sleeve g and the teeth g and f of the positive clutch are thrown in gear, the handle will have been moved so far as to admit of the catch on the arm n engaging with the stop 7' on the double-curved edge of the lever On the positive clutch g f being brought into operation the spindle Ct will be driven positively together with the toothed wheels 76 and q and the key r, and the nipple engaged with the latter will be rotated so as to screw up the said nipple upon the spoke. Directly the nipple has been screwed up to the predetermined amount the end of the spoke will bear against the end of the shaft or spindle m and force it backward or into the outer hollow or recessed spindle or plunger Z, and consequently also move in the same direction the arm n, disengaging its catch from the stop j on the lever j. The spring h on the spindle a will be then left free to disengagethe positive clutch g f by sliding the sleeve 9 back toward the stop 3. The spindle a will be now rotated by the friction device, comprising the radially-grooved disk Z2 and spring-actuated balls d, and the sleeve g will be carried around thereby until the projection s on the stop 3 again enters the catch 8 in the said sleeve g. This arrests the rotation of the sleeve g, the spindle a, the toothed wheels and q, and the key 1' and once more brings the slotted parts in line, so that the spoke that has been operated upon may be withdrawn and an- 7 and holding the said lever in that position.-

other introduced andthe same operation repeated ad infim'um. The driving-pulley c continues to rotate during the engagement of the stop 8 with the sleeve g, the spring-actuated balls leaving the radial grooves in the face of the disk 5.

i The point at which the projecting extremity of the spoke will engage with the shaft or spindle m to operate the disengagement of the catch on the arm 11 may be regulated by adjusting the position of the arm 02 upon the screw-threaded portion of the said shaft or spindle m.

Although we find the hereinbefore-described form of friction clutch or driving device advantageous and We prefer to employ the same, we do not confine ourselves thereto or to the other details precisely as described, as these may be somewhat varied without exceeding the scope of our invention.

What We claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a machine for building up tensionwheels for velocipedes and the like, the combination, with a pinion a detachable key a bearing-piece fast thereto and a bracket each having a radial slot adapted to receive a spoke and its nipple and tighten up the same, of means, substantially as set forth, for imparting rotary motion to such pinion, and for arresting such motion when the said tightening up has been effected, and for resetting the machine for the ensuing operation, by

one manipulation of a lever.

2. In a machine for building up tension- Wheels for velocipedes and the like, the combination of a driving shaft or spindle a, a driving or belt pulley c, a friction-clutch and a positive clutch connecting said spindle with said pulley, a toothed or spur wheel 7t mounted on said spindle, a radially-slotted toothed or spur wheel (1 secured to a rotatably-mounted hollow spindle p and key 1 and gearing with said toothed wheel k, a hollow plunger or nipple-supporting device Z, an inner spindle m carried thereby, an operating-lever j,

and means for releasing said lever and arrest-' ing the rotation of the mechanism. I

3'. In a machine for building up tensionwheels for velocipedes and the like, the combination, with a rotatably-mounted shaft or spindle Ct, a driving or belt pulley and a fric tion-clutch and a positive clutch connecting said spindle with said pulley, of means for effectin g the automatic release of the said positive clutch comprising the hollow spindle, plunger or nipple-supportin g device Z, spring, h, shaft or spindle an, arm n carrying a catch, a stop 7' and pivoted lever j.

4. In a machine for building up tensionwheels for velocipedes and the like, the combination, with a radially-slotted bracket B toothed wheel q and key r, of means for automatically bringing the slots in the said toothed wheel q and key 1' opposite or in line with that in the bracket B comprising the pulley c, radially-grooved disk 1), balls or shaft or spindle m, pin or stud Z, lever j, pin

or stud j, and circumferential groove g.

6. In a machine for building up tensionwheels for velocipedes or the like, the combination of a shaft or spindle Cb rotatably mounted in suitable bearings in standards B, B upon a bed or base plate A, a drivingpulley c, friction clutch, device, or drive,

0, (Z, c, 6, positive clutch f, g, g, g i, h, 1 toothed or spur Wheel is, slotted toothed or spur wheel q, key a", bracket B standard B slidin g hollow spindle, plunger or nipplesnpporting device Z, inner shaft or spindle m, spring 0 stud or pin Z, slot B stud or pin j, stops .9, s, j spring 0' and arm n carrying a catch.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names.

ALEXANDER CRAIG; CHARLES THOMAS AUSTEN. Witnesses to the signature of Alexander Craig:

FREDERICK JOHN EDWARDS, JOHN HERBERT CHANDLER. lVitnesses to the signature of Charles Thomas Austen:

A. F. SPOONER, T. G. DAKIN. 

